Tag Archives: blouses

Jump Start Summer Blouse Sale: Oaxaca + Chiapas

Posted on Friday, March 22, 2024 | Leave a comment

Stay cool and fresh as spring is here and summer is just around the corner. Preview sale of Oaxaca and Chiapas cotton and linen blouses before we put them in our shop. The shop won’t open back up until mid-April. Buy before March 29 and we will take these back to the USA when we return on April 4. We will mail to you by April 7, just in time to get a jump start on the hot weather.

The workmanship on these blouses is outstanding— impeccable quality, detailed embroidery, most of the pieces are hand finished. Some have extraordinary embroidery joining the seams.

How to Buy: mailto:norma.schafer@icloud.com Tell me the item you want by number. Send me your mailing address. Tell me the payment method you prefer and your phone and email address. Choose either one of two ways. Be sure to measure carefully. There are no returns or refunds. Thank you.

You can pay 1) with a Zelle transfer and no service fee; or with 2) a credit card (4% service fee). For credit card purchases we send an invoice from Square. The request will include the cost of the garment + $16 mailing. If you want more than one piece, I’m happy to combine mailing. I’ll be mailing from Taos, NM, when I return to the USA after April 8, 2024. Thank you very much.

#1. Hand-guided, machine embroidered on cotton, this lovely rose and red blouse is from Oaxaca’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec, where hot, humid weather means women dress to stay cool, cool, cool. This blouse measures 19″ wide across the front and 21″ long. This is equal to a size Small-Extra Small, but the label is mismarked and indicates a size Medium. The embroidery designs are drawn by hand and the machine embroidery needle is hand-guided, making this a handmade process. Machine wash gentle, hang to dry. Press lightly. Price: $165

#2. Hand embroidered on white window pane linen from the village of Chenalho, about two hours beyond San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas. This easy flowing crop top is perfect for summer heat, drapes beautiful and the embroidery is impeccable. Wear with a skirt or slacks and transition from day-time to evening wear. Elegant. Size Large. Measures 29″ wide and 24″ long. Price: $185

#3. Linen blouse with finely detailed embroidery made in the village of Huixtan, Chiapas, is a punch of color with blue, gray, white, and wine colored embroidered flowers on hot red. Notice the detail of the stitching around the neckline, sleeves and down the front. Size Medium. Measures: 25″ wide x 26″ long. Price: $195

#4. Chambray blue and white linen fabric embroidered with detailed cross-stitch makes a perfect pairing with jeans or a denim skirt. The embroidery on the back is equal in detail to the embroidery on the front. Made in Zinacantan, Chiapas. Size Small. Measures: 21″ wide x 25″ long. Price: $295

#5. Snow white linen embellished with finely honed cross-stitches, all made by hand! A subtle, yet impressive blusa for spring and summer wearing. Embroidered in Zinacantan, Chiapas. Stay cool and comfortable in this wash and hang-to-dry beauty. Size Medium. Measures 25″ wide x 26″ long. Price: $295

#6. From Oaxaca’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec where hot, humid weather demands comfortable, light weight cotton, this rust colored blouse is just what you need to get a jump start on spring and summer. It is hand-guided machine embroidered, meaning that it is truly a made-by-hand garment. Size Small-Extra Small. Measures 19″ wide x 21″ long. $165

#7. Coral colored linen with embroidered red and white flowers accent this beautifully made blouse from San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas. It is a size Medium and measures 24″ wide x 26″ long. This riot of color will lift your summer spirits as the weather turns from mild to hot. Wear it in style and comfort. Price: $185

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Life Update and All Things Mexico Spring Clearance

Posted on Monday, June 13, 2022 | Comments Off on Life Update and All Things Mexico Spring Clearance

Here in Northern New Mexico the winds are gusting. While some of the early spring wildfires are contained, more are igniting, mostly from lightening strikes. Near Georgia O’Keeffe’s home in Abiquiu a new fire erupted in El Rito, a small mountain community about 30 miles from where I live. Scary stuff. Smoke obliterated the mountains and I had to wear a face mask in the car. The air smelled like a campfire. We are in severe drought conditions and global warming is taking its toll. A couple of weeks ago, an unusual early spring hurricane hit the Oaxaca coast hard. My friends reported lots of devastation. Climate change is wrecking havoc.

Meanwhile, I’m waiting for my small house to be completed on the Rio Grande Gorge. everything is delayed and costs have soared. It was supposed to be May, then amended to the end of June. I’m hoping for this so I can close, get my mortgage and return to Oaxaca in time for the Summer Textile Mountain Tour. Hoping this will happen, though not sure. (We can still register you — there are a few open spaces — register by June 20 and get 10% off!)

Celebrate summer with a colorful hand-embroidered shoulder bag. 9×10” with 42” strap, lined with zipper. Specify by color. Was $56 each. Discounted to $29 each.

I’m still culling my collection and will continue to do so as I prepare for another move. Here are some wonderful pieces to offer to you today.

To Buy: Please send me an email with your name, email address, mailing address and include the Item Number you wish to purchase. We add $14 flat rate to mail and we are happy to combine orders in one shipment. Tell me if you want to pay with a Zelle transfer (no service fee) or use PayPal or Venmo (with a 3% service fee). For PayPal or Venmo, I will send you a request for funds. Thanks very much. -Norma

#1 Las Sanjuaneras blusa. natural dyes, indigo and banana bark. 30” wide x 23” long. $225
SOLD #2 Las Sanjuaneras blusa. Índigo and mahogany. 30” wide x 27” long. $225.
SOLD #3 Tote/weekend bag, indigo and leather, lined, zipper, interior pockets. Wool tapestry hand-woven. $155.
SOLD #4 Coyuchi cotton huipil from Zacoalpan, Guerrero. 28” wide x 37” long. Deeply discounted $295.
#5 From Pinotepa de Don Luis, Oaxaca, gorgeous fuchsine huipil, handspun cotton. 31” wide x 46” long. sturdy fabric. $325
#6 Pinotepa de Don Luis blusa dye with gourd and rare purple snail. 29” wide x 29” long $290.
#7 from Cancuc, Chiapas, huipil, dyed with nanche fruit and cochineal. 20” wide x 35” long. $250.
SOLD #8 Xochistlahuaca backstrap loomed shoulder bag Bargain! $65
SOLD #9 Collector’s Huipil from Xochistlahuaca. 30” wide x 45” long Was $875 NOW $475.
#10 Size XL french knot embroidered blouse from Chiapas, spectacular workmanship. Was $145 Now $110.
#11. San Andres Larrainzar blusa. Backstrap loomed. 22-1/2” wide x 25” long. $68
SOLD #13. From the famous Palafox family of San Mateo del Mar, Oaxaca Size XL 35” wide x 33” long. cochineal, wild marigold, indigo. sea creature motifs woven into finest handwoven gauze cotton. You get this for what was paid for it. $375
#14. from Chiapas designer Alberto Lopez Gomez, the best quality huipil from the region. Size Medium. You get this for cost! $375
#15. And this one from Alberto Lopez Gomez. size Medium Also at cost $375

COMING UP — JEWELRY!

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From San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas: Textile Sale

Posted on Sunday, March 6, 2022 | 2 comments

My modus operandi is to visit the homes and cooperatives of the finest weavers wherever I travel in Mexico and elsewhere. I can’t possibly wear everything I love. But that does not deter me from buying to support what they do. We hear time and again from weavers on our textile tours that the pandemic has wrought economic havoc on their lives and there have been few if any customers who come to visit and buy. Without this support, extraordinary artisans will give up their work and turn to something more economically sustainable — servers and cooks in restaurants, hotel maids, shop girls. The men who make the looms, leave to work in the USA to provide food for their families.*

We don’t want that to happen! So, here I am again, with a stash of beautiful textiles to offer to you for sale.

Buy now. I’ll be mailing after April 1 when I return to the USA.

How to Buy: mailto:norma.schafer@icloud.com Tell me the item you want by number. Send me your mailing address. Tell me how you want to pay. Choose one of three ways.

You can pay one of three ways: 1) with Zelle (account number 919-274-6194) and no service fee; 2) with Venmo or 3) with PayPal. If you choose either #2 or #3, we add on a 3% service fee which is their charge to us, and we will send a Request for Funds to your email address. The request will include the cost of the garment + $12 mailing. If you want more than one piece, I’m happy to combine mailing. I’ll be mailing from Santa Cruz, CA, when I return to the USA after April 1, 2022.

SOLD 1. Magdalena Aldama huipil. Cotton. 25” wide x 29” long. $450 + mailing. a stained glass window for Joan!
#2. Venustiano Carranza gauze huipil, 24” wide x 36” long. Cotton. $195 + mailing.
SOLD 3. Venustiano Carranza huipil, 23” wide x 35” long. Cotton. $195 + mailing
SOLD 4. Venustiano Carranza, Chiapas shawl. Cotton. 14-3/4” wide x 56” long. pair with the hot pink huipil. $85 + mailing.
SOLD 5. San Lorenzo Zinacantan, land of flowers, free-form machine embroidered blouse. 21” wide x 30” long. Polyester. $120 + mailing.
SOLD 6. 29” wide x 23” long. Rayon with a subtle hint of glitter. Chiapas. Backstrap loom. $135 + mailing.
#7. Aguacatenango, Chiapas French knot embroidered blouse. Size M-L. 23” wide across embroidered bodice. 25” long. Sleeve length from shoulder 21” $135 + mailing.
This short sleeve green bodice blouse is also available, Size XL $135 + mailing gorgeous smocking

*Agustin, the husband of my friend Francisca who made this blouse (above), left almost a year ago to work in a Chinese restaurant in High Point, NC, where he is washing dishes. He will be there another year to pay off debt incurred during the pandemic. She is at home with her daughter and mother.

SOLD 8. Cream on cream from Venustiano Carranza. 23” wide x 26” long. Loose drape. Gauze weave. 4-Selvedge edge. $135 + mailing.
SOLD 9. White on white. 4-Selvedge edge. Gauze. Venustiano Carranza. 19” wide x 23” long. $110 + mailing.
SOLD 10. White on white gauze. 4-Selvedge edge. Venustiano Carranza. $110. 23”wide x 26” long. To Olive
SOLD #11. White on white. Gauze. 4-Selvedge edge. Venustiano Carranza. $135 + mailing. 22” wide x 23” long.

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Francisca’s French Knot Blouses + Rosario’s Embroidered Shoulder Bags: Holiday Shopping

Posted on Wednesday, November 17, 2021 | Comments Off on Francisca’s French Knot Blouses + Rosario’s Embroidered Shoulder Bags: Holiday Shopping

Just in time for the holidays! Colorful hand-embroidered blouses and shoulder bags from Mexico, yours to gift or for festive wearing during the next few weeks and beyond.

Francisca is an expert in embroidered blouses using the French Knot technique. She lives in Aguacatenango, a small Chiapas village about an hour-and-a-half from San Cristobal de las Casas. I met her in the plaza some years back during one of our Chiapas textile study tours (there is one space open in the March 8-16, 2022 tour). Her work was far and away the best quality of all the women there, with dense embroidery, all hand-finished seams (no machine stitching in this garment), and 100% Mexican cotton cloth called manta. During Covid, when there were no tourists (and there aren’t that many now, either), I began to order blouses from her to help the family earn income. She sent me this group of all LONG SLEEVE blouses to Oaxaca and I brought them back in my luggage.

The blouses are perfect for winter in southern climates. In the colder north, layer a white HeatTec t-shirt underneath for warmth.

Rosario is a friend from Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca. I asked her to start making these colorful embroidered shoulder bags last year, also during covid. Her family lives in a humble, concrete block house ringed by a dirt patio. In the traditional way, she cooks outside on the comal — making tortillas, tamales, beans and squash — the staples of campesinos throughout Mexico. The bags are lined, have an interior pocket and zippered closure. They are fun to wear daily or make a delightful, whimsical addition to any festive occasion.

Ethical sourcing and fair trade. I pay both these women outright for what I order at the price they ask. No bargaining! No questions asked. The money goes in their pockets immediately and we can all feel better that we are supporting women and Mexican artisan craft. Francisca told me she can only make two blouses a month! It takes Rosario a month to embroider the pieces to make eight bags. They are embroidered front and back.

How to buy: mailto:norma.schafer@icloud.com Tell me the item you want by number. Send me your mailing address. I will send you a PayPal invoice after you ID your choices. The invoice will include the cost of the garment + $12 mailing. If you want more than one piece, I’m happy to combine mailing. I’ll be mailing from Taos, NM. Next day mailing guarantee if you order and buy before December 10. On December 11, I’m in transit to return to Oaxaca.

Blouse details:

Size Medium/Large has an embroidered bodice that is 14” wide. Sleeve is 21” long from shoulder to cuff. (Longer sleeves this time!) 27” wide armpit to armpit. 28-1/2” long from shoulder to hem. $125 each.

Size Large/Extra Large has an embroidered bodice that is 16” wide. Sleeve is 21” long from shoulder to cuff. 29” wide armpit to armpit. 28-1/2” long from shoulder to hem. $135 each.

Care Instructions: Wash in cold water on delicate cycle in washing machine using a mild soap like Fels Naptha or baby shampoo. Do not use Woolite. Hang to dry. Use medium-hot iron to press. Or, dry clean.

SOLD. 1A. Black. Size L-XL. $135
SOLD. 1. Blue, size M-L. $125

SOLD 2. Blue, size L-XL.$135

Shown with Rosario’s shoulder bag.

#3 Purple, size M-L. $125

SOLD. 4 Purple, size L-XL. $135

#5 Purple, size L-XL. $135

SOLD. #6. Red. Size M-L. $125

SOLD. 7. Red. Size L-XL. $135

Bag Details:

Each bag is about 10” wide x 9” high and has a 44” strap that easily works as a cross-body bag.

#8. $50
#9. $50

#10. $35

#11. $50
#12. $35
#13. $50
#15. $50
#16. $50.
17. $50

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Fun, Cool Cotton Summer Blouses from Oaxaca

Posted on Tuesday, July 13, 2021 | Comments Off on Fun, Cool Cotton Summer Blouses from Oaxaca

I asked Rosario, my friend from Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, to work with me on creating hand-embroidered blouses on machine-washable cotton — perfect for summer wearing. She said YES. They just arrived and are ready for purchase. The embroidery floss is cotton, too. These are whimsical floral designs. Each piece is very different. You can wash them on gentle and hang to dry, then give them a light pressing only if desired.

Blouses measure 25″ wide by 24-1/2″ long (more or less). They will fit most size Medium to Large. Take your measurements across the widest part of your torso to be sure. Even if you are size small, you could wear this as a very loose top that drapes beautifully. Good for casual wear with jeans or hiking pants, over a swimsuit at the pool or beach, or with a skirt. Take your pick!

In addition to the embroidered flowers, the cloth is sewn together with a randa. This is beautiful needlework that is almost like needle lace, intricate and stunning. You can see this detail in one of the photos below.

Blouses are $58. USD each.

To Buy: Please email me at norma.schafer@icloud.com with your name, mailing address and item number. I will mark it SOLD, send you an invoice to purchase and add $12 for cost of mailing. Let me know if you want to buy using PayPal. Venmo or Zelle. I can also send you a Square invoice (+3% fee) if you don’t use these payment methods. All sales final.

  • Blouse #1
  • SOLD #2
  • SOLD Blouse #3
  • SOLD Blouse #4
  • SOLDBlouse #5
  • Blouse #6
  • Blouse #7
  • Blouse #8
  • SOLD. Blouse #9
  • Detail of randa joining stitch
  • SOLD. Blouse #10

Rosario is a talented seamstress and embroiderer. She has very little work these days and I ask her to make these blouses and the shoulder bags I have offered before to keep her employed. She and her family live very simply in a humble home. Thank you for considering this purchase.

Norma

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